Last Stand
by RichLayers
Summary: What if somebody, once and for all, actually believed Lex when he said something? What's the worst thing that could happen to the only person who has faith in you? Not really sure where this is in continuity, but definately after season 2. Please R&R!
1. Arrival

Raina Kent urged her car not to give up. She was on the last leg of her journey – in a little less than half an hour she'd reach the Kent farm. She was excited; she hadn't seen this part of the family in several years and it was good to be back in the clear Kansas air.  
She finally found a radio station and spent the last few minutes of the trip singing along to Buffalo Springfield and the Beatles.  
Martha was waiting for her on the porch. Raina jumped out of the car and paused a moment to stretch.  
"It's so good to see you," she said as Martha came down the steps.  
"I'm so glad you found a chance to visit." Martha pulled her into a hug and gave her a good squeeze. "Come on inside and get out of this heat!"  
"Glad to. My car refused to cooperate on the matter of the air conditioner."  
Martha laughed and offered iced tea, which Raina accepted gratefully. "Clark and Jonathan should be back soon. They ran into town to pick up a few things."  
Raina glanced over the pictures decorating the walls. I can't wait to see Clark. Last time I saw him, he was this tall." She held a hand slightly above waist level.  
Martha smiled as she handed Raina her drink. "I think you'll find that he's considerably taller now."  
"I should hope so!"  
"Come on, have a seat," Martha invited. "How long are you staying in town?"  
Raina laughed. "Wow, we got to that topic sooner than I'd anticipated. I actually wanted to talk to you about – well, Dad would really like me to get out of the city, because of...."  
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Martha excused herself and went to answer it.  
A tall man stood at the door. Raina would have been hard pressed to say which she noticed first: his absolutely classy mode of dress, or the fact that he was completely bald.  
"Lex." Martha seemed surprised. "Can I help you?"  
"He nodded to Raina before answering. "I'm sorry to just drop in. Is Clark here?"  
Raina nearly shivered as his gaze swept across her. He's probably gay, she though with great vexation, noting once more his clothing.  
"He and Jonathan should be back any time. You..." Martha hesitated. "You can wait, if you'd like."  
"Thanks." He stepped inside, and immediately owned the room. He held out a hand to Raina. "I'm Lex."  
"Raina Kent." She gave him her hand and he surprised her by kissing the back of it instead of shaking it.  
"Another Kent?"  
Raina found his eyes perfectly delightful. There's no way a straight man wears that much designer clothing, she thought, and, determined not to sink into despair, said, "Yes, Jonathan is my second cousin. Or first cousin once removed, I've never been sure which."  
Martha coughed. "Can I get you something to drink, Lex?"  
He hadn't released Raina's hand, and he didn't look away from her as he said, "No, but thank you."  
He's way too polite to be straight, Raina thought but was unable to quell the hope his attention stirred.  
A car door slammed outside, and Jonathan Kent's distinctive voice finally jogged Raina enough that she reclaimed her hand.  
"We're home!" Clark was first in the door, and indeed very much taller than Raina remembered him.  
"Raina, you made it." Jonathan's eyes skimmed over Lex, then he grinned and gave her a hug. "What's it been, five, six years?"  
"Something like that." She stepped back, unsure if Clark would appreciate a bit of cousinly affection.  
"Don't tell me you're shy now," Clark teased, giving her arm a tug. "I remember how much you used to tease me about that."  
She laughed. "It's so good to see you again."  
"You've met Lex?" Jonathan asked. Raina wondered if she imagined the less than enthusiastic note in his voice. Maybe Lex hit on Clark, her wild imagination supplied.  
She nodded. "We managed an introduction just a moment ago."  
Jonathan put an arm around Martha. Raina tried to steal a furtive glance at Lex, but it backfired when she found him looking at her. She covered by asking, "How do you know Clark, Lex? You look a little old to be in high school."  
"Clark saved my life. After that I consider him a pretty good friend."  
Raina's eyebrows shot up in surprised. "Mister hero, here." She shook her head and gave Lex a pained look. "No one ever tells me anything."  
Jonathan cleared his throat and said, "Well, surely you've heard about Lex before now?"  
She was almost sure she wasn't dreaming up the underlying current of... something in Jonathan's voice. "Heard of Lex where? You haven't mentioned him before."  
"You've heard of LuthorCorp, though?" Jonathan pressed.  
She frowned. "A little." She looked at Lex doubtfully.  
"Lionel Luthor is my father," he clarified.  
Raina could feel the mounting tension in the room, and didn't like it because she didn't understand it. She smiled at Lex. "I'm afraid I always skip over the business section of the paper. I know I've heard of LuthorCorp, but that's about the extent of my knowledge."  
There was a soft 'ding' from the oven, and Martha jumped. "That's dinner." She moved to maneuver it out of the oven.  
"I'll get out of your way, then," Lex said. "Will you be at the Talon tonight, Clark?"  
"Yeah, we've got a study session."  
Raina wished she'd been around long enough to invite Lex to stay for dinner.  
"I'll see you then."  
"I'll walk you out," Clark offered.  
"Don't worry about it," Lex said quickly. "You've got company. I'll see you later." He gave Raina another nod and departed too quickly for her to appreciate his backside as much as she believed it deserved.  
There was an awkward silence.  
Finally Raina said, "Okay, what's the deal?"  
"It's a long story," Jonathan said. "Nothing we want to discuss over good food."  
Martha had, by this time, set the food out, and the rest of the Kents sat down.  
"What's the Talon?" asked Raina, venturing into what she hoped was safer territory.  
"It's a coffee shop that my friend Lana runs. It used to be a movie theater, but she only runs a few shows now." He smiled, not seeming to realize it. "She and a couple other friends are who I'm studying with tonight."  
"Lana, huh?" Raina traded a look with Martha.  
"What?" Clark asked.  
Raina couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping her lips. "Nothing."  
"What?"  
"Nothing."  
Jonathan said to Martha, "Can you imagine if she'd been around all the time? It's practically sibling rivalry."  
The food was delicious, and Raina forestalled any further teasing by saying, "This is fantastic. I'm a wretched cook."  
"That reminds me," Martha said. "What were you saying about getting out of the city? Right before Lex got here?"  
"Oh!" Raina grinned. "I'm thinking of moving here, actually. Or somewhere around here, depending on what kind of apartment I can find. My Dad wants me away from the city, so this visit is actually partly in the hope that I can find someplace nice to stay."  
"Why, that would be wonderful!" Martha said in delight.  
Clark laughed. "Guess you have to put up with that sibling rivalry after all, Dad."  
Jonathan shook his head, eyes to heaven. "I spoke too soon."  
"I'm gonna try to find some place within the next week or so. Hopefully before I become as stinky as fish after three days. Dad will ship the rest of my stuff down once I give him an address."  
"Well, you can come down to the Talon with me tonight," Clark offered. "See Smallville in all its glory before you decide to condemn yourself to a life of boredom."  
"I only get bored on car trips," Raina assured him. "Which is why, having made the trip, I'm settling down instead of driving back."  
Dinner was concluded with more happy chatter. Raina took a few minutes to freshen up and change. She picked out dark jeans which she always thought made her posterior very attractive, and a black peasant blouse with a low neckline. Dampening her hair brought out the waves in it, and she surveyed herself with satisfaction.  
She slipped on some strappy black sandals, grabbed her notebook, and hurried downstairs, hoping Clark hadn't been waiting for too long.  
He was just stuffing some books into his bag. "Ready?" he asked.  
"Indeed."  
It was a short driving, during which Raina interrogated Clark mercilessly on Lana's appearance and anything else about her that could be ferreted out.  
"You seem relieved," she teased when they got there.  
"Just come inside and see her for yourself," he said, exasperated.  
Clark led her inside and straight to a table where three kids already had notes and books spread out.  
"You're late, Kent," said a handsome, black boy.  
"I blame Raina."  
"Hey!" she protested. "I was ready before you."  
"Then you'll just have to take the blame as payback for the car trip."  
Raina stuck her tongue out at Clark. Then she noticed that both of the two girls were eying her suspiciously.  
"Everyone, this is my coastal cousin Raina."  
The girls eased off the suspicion immediately and smiled at Raina. One she recognized as the highly esteemed Lana.  
"I love how you make me sound insane just by saying where I'm from," Raina laughed.  
"This is my friend Pete, and this is Lana. She runs this place." Lana nodded in acknowledgement. "This is Chloe, my journalist friend. Raina writes, too, Chloe."  
The blonde girl grinned. "Are you into journalism?"  
"Not me," Raina said. "I'm strictly into fiction."  
"Any publications?" Chloe seemed like the kind of person who would never run out of questions.  
"A few, but I write under a pen name."  
Lana coughed. "Before you go into interview mode, Chloe, remember the history test we all have to take tomorrow."  
Raina chuckled. "I'm going to see if the drinks are as good as they're reported to be, then go occupy myself until Clark is ready to go. It's nice to meet you guys."  
Pete was muttering dates by the time she'd turned away.  
She managed to get a drink that was mostly chocolate and found a corner. She doodled in her notebook, wrote some sentences and scribbled them out, then gave up and began writing a letter to her sister.  
"You seem to be working very hard."  
Raina looked up to find Lex standing before her. She grinned and decided that even his voice was perfect.  
"No, I'm just pretending," she said in answer to his comment. "Please, sit down." Please, please, please.  
He sat in the chair opposite her and she set her notebook aside.  
"I didn't mean to interrupt."  
"It's fine – my pretend work isn't actually as appealing as you." She shut her eyes. "The things I say when I don't have a chance to edit on paper."  
"'Sometimes knowing when to talk is more important than knowing what to say,'" he quoted.  
"That's from Whistling in the Dark!" she said in delight.  
"You've read it."  
It wasn't a question but she said, "Oh, certainly."  
"It's one of my favorite books. I've read it three times and I want to read it again."  
"Wow." Raina couldn't think of anything else to say.  
"I like everything by Michelle Rigby, but that's my favorite. It surprises me every time I read it."  
"You know," Raina said, completely flabbergasted, "the idea came from a song by They Might Be Giants."  
"Really." Lex seemed impressed. "Where'd you hear that? It's impossible to find anything about Rigby."  
"I must have read it somewhere."  
"You know they're making a movie from it."  
"I did know that."  
Lex shook his head. "Rigby's not involved, so of course they're going to butcher it."  
"I'm glad you feel that way!" Raina said more loudly than she'd meant to. She laughed, and when he laughed with her, she felt something in her ease.  
After that she found him remarkable to talk to, about anything from books to philosophy to food. When Clark was ready to leave, Raina had to hold herself back from warning him on the dangers of not studying enough.  
"I could give you a ride out to the farm later," Lex offered quietly, and she was so pleased that he wanted to keep talking to her that she almost took him up on it.  
With infinite regret, she said, "I'd better not. First night as a guest."  
He nodded in understanding and walked her out with Clark. "Good luck on your test," he said to his friend. He caught Raina's hand and she reveled. "I'll see you again soon, I hope."  
"I'll be around." She wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him but she restrained herself successfully and got into the truck, then watched him in the side mirror, standing in the light of the Talon, until she couldn't see him anymore.  
Clark was muttering something about forefathers.  
"He's not gay, is he?"  
"George Washington?" he asked incredulously.  
She laughed. "No, Lex."  
Now Clark laughed. "No. No, no, no, no."  
She smirked. "Good."  
"Good, huh?"  
She didn't answer, just sniffed.  
"You like him."  
"Do not."  
He waited a beat and then repeated, "You like him."  
"Maybe," she amended.  
"You like him."  
She stuck with, "Maybe." 


	2. Correspondence

Raina shoved things into the tiny medicine cabinet in the bathroom of her new apartment. She scarcely looked at what she was doing, figuring she could organize everything once the boxes were gone.  
She tripped her way over said boxes and into the living room. Her couch and desk were completely covered with more of the same.  
She had the door and windows open to catch the breeze. It worked in spurts, but mostly it was just hot. The landlord had promised to fix the air conditioner within the week. Raina was just about convinced that she was doomed to live sans a/c.  
She found a box marked 'clothing' and carried it to the bedroom, then spotted one marked 'desk' and brought it back to the living room. Tearing it open, she found assorted knick knacks, dozens of pens, a stapler, and the mouse for her computer – just on the top layer.  
"I hate moving, I hate moving," she muttered in a sing-song. At least she finally had all the parts for her computer.  
Hooking it up, getting it running, and starting some music was a considerable balm to her irritation.  
With music to sooth her nerves, she decided to tackle the formidable task of unloading the books. She had three shelves set up along one wall, and she decided to just unload, and then put her special organization system into effect later. Like another day.  
She managed to drop several of the heavier books on her bare foot and muffled a curse. She took a deep breath and said aloud, although in a growl, "At the least bear patiently, if thou canst not joyfully."  
"Thomas à Kempis."  
Raina whirled and found Lex standing in her doorway.  
"Right?"  
"Uhh," she said intelligently. "Kempis. Yeah, that's right."  
He took a step inside and handed her a gift bag. "Housewarming."  
She peeked inside. "Bread, salt, and wine." She grinned and waved him to follow her into the kitchen. "We're both very full of allusions today."  
She unloaded the gifts, putting the wine into the fridge.  
"You shouldn't chill that until you want to serve it," he said.  
"Oh." She brought it back out. "I don't drink much that's alcoholic."  
"I'm sorry. I would have gotten something else if I'd known."  
Raina suspected it was a very good wine. "Nonsense. Now I can pretend to be a good hostess."  
He laughed. "You pretend to be a good hostess, you pretend to work – is there anything that you actually do?"  
She tossed her head in the air and sniffed. "Of course." He waited. "When I figure out what that is, I'll let you know." She grinned again, hoping for another of his smiles.  
Hoping for a lot more, but it seemed too premature for that. She sighed in frustration.  
"What's wrong?" Lex asked. The kitchen was so small that he couldn't be standing more than a couple feet away, but Raina felt every inch like a yawning chasm.  
"I just hate this part," she explained. "Not knowing how things will work out, if anything will come of any plans, how things will develop, that whole stage of seeing the potential but not knowing if it'll ever reach what you hope for...." She trailed off. Somewhere along the way she'd lost track of what she was talking about.  
Lex just nodded – if he caught her double meaning, he didn't say anything about it. "I understand. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know."  
She quirked an eyebrow. "Like unpacking boxes?"  
He chuckled. "I guess I walked into that one."  
"Come on. Books are easy – that's my big project of the hour. You can do all the heavy lifting." He didn't respond and she looked back over her shoulder. "I'm just kidding, I already carried everything."  
"You've very strong."  
"That's me – a regular super woman." She managed to coax another smile out of him. "Is everything all right? You aren't as chatty as the last time I saw you."  
He shrugged. "Family issues. I'll put it out of my mind for the present, so as to fully reciprocate all chat." This time his smile was more natural.  
They started out working very diligently, but were soon distracted, flipping through pages and comparing favorites.  
Lex sat cross legged on the floor, flipping through a Michelle Rigby he'd never read. "I still don't understand why you have three copies."  
Raina barely brushed against him as she looked over his shoulder. "Because I haven't given them away yet. You can have that one."  
"Thank you," he said, turning to the first page. He froze. "I can't take this. It's signed."  
She shrugged. "They all are. Consider it something of marginal value to add to your collection."  
"How did you manage to get three signed copies?" Lex asked.  
Raina was thrilled to have impressed him. "Because I am brilliantly wonderful," she said to hedge.  
He turned to look at her, bringing their faces within inches of each other. She didn't move, hardly dared to breath. Without breaking eye contact, she touched his hand, watching him move a fraction closer to her.  
She closed her eyes and when his lips touched hers she felt something inside her click. It was a slow, tentative kiss, the kind made for shy exploration. Raina felt herself melting.  
Lex pulled away from her after a moment. Her heart was racing and she couldn't look at him.  
"I'm sorry," he said, misinterpreting the look on her face.  
"I'm not," she said quickly and smiled at what she saw in his expression. "It's nice to be past that first stage of development."  
He grinned and squeezed her hand.  
There was a chiming from the vicinity of Lex's hip.  
"You're ringing," Raina told him redundantly.  
He pulled the smallest cell phone Raina had ever seen out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID screen. "I've got to go," he said. He stood and offered her a hand up. "Let me assure you that this has been the highlight of my day."  
"We should do it again sometime," she said, hating cell phones and all technology. "I'll buy some more books to unpack."  
He touched her chin, then leaned down and kissed her one more time, quickly, like he was afraid that more would lead to much more.  
Lex left without another word.  
Raina hurried into the bathroom and searched through the medicine cabinet until she found what she wanted. She swallowed the pill without any water, then stood staring at her reflection and grinning like a lunatic for a long moment before getting back to work. 


	3. Liking

Lex stalked into the Talon. He squelched his irritation while he ordered. The girl working was new, and Lex couldn't help drumming his fingers impatiently against the countertop as he waited.  
"Sorry that took so long," the girl said, handing him a cup.  
He couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't really mean, so he didn't answer her, just took his drink and found a seat. He set the mug down and tried to focus his thoughts, but he was still too angry to clear his mind.  
He almost took out his cell phone, but stopped and watched as Clark and his friend Pete almost fell through the door in their haste. They rushed up to the counter.  
"Have you seen Lana?" Clark asked.  
Lex stood up and moved toward them as the girl replied, "She's not supposed to be here for another hour and a half."  
Clark turned and spotted Lex. "Lex! You haven't seen Lana, have you?"  
He shook his head. "What's the problem?"  
Clark's eyes shifted away and then back to Lex's face. "Nothing. I just need to talk to her."  
Lex raised an eyebrow.  
Clark amended, "I need to talk to her really badly."  
"Do you want help looking for her?" Lex asked.  
"No," Clark said just a bit too quickly.  
"Clark," Pete said, giving his friend a nudge. "It's almost seven."  
Clark seemed torn. "I've gotta find Lana." He looked back at Lex. "I promised Raina I'd meet her for a movie at seven thirty."  
Lex seized the opportunity. "Well, I'll meet Raina. I can tell her something came up, and you can find Lana."  
Clark looked relieved. "Thank you. Raina said she'd kill me if I made her sit through Whistling in the Dark by herself." He hurried out, Pete following him, without another word.  
Lex had had no intention of seeing the movie version of Whistling in the Dark, and after a couple of the conversations with Raina, he wasn't sure why she was seeing it. That didn't mean he was going to miss the chance to see it with her.  
He would have to drive fast to make it on time.  
He got to the theater in record time, bought a ticket outside and went in. Raina was waiting in the lobby, and looked surprised to see him.  
Lex strode up to her. "Clark couldn't make it, but he sent me, with his apologies. I hope you don't mind."  
She gazed at him for a moment, then shook her head.  
"Are you coming?" He held the door for her, and she scooted past him into the darkness. He followed her and found her hand, which sent an irrational thrill through him, and he found himself grinning.  
They found seats near the back. "This way we can make fun of the movie," she explained.  
"Ah," he said, "so that's why you're here."  
She giggled and then the previews were over.  
Lex spent the next two hours more vastly amused than he'd expected to be, by far. Raina altered between groans of dismay and outright mockery of Hollywood and all the alterations it had made to Rigby's work.  
As they left, she shook her head. "Devastating, just devastating. What an utter horror. Who the hell was that Brandon guy? Did they just make up an entire character?"  
"And the ending!" Lex went along with her tirade. "A complete reversal from the book."  
They reached her car, a beat up P.O.S. He stopped and waited, not wanting to leave, not wanting her to leave.  
Not wanting to deal with the crap his father was throwing his way.  
Raina hovered by the car door. She seemed to have run out of things to say about the movie, at least for the moment.  
She was still holding his hand, and she looked up at him, eyes bright with the lights from the theater.  
She gave a little tug and he leaned down to kiss her. Her mouth was sweet and soft, and she slid her arms around him like she couldn't be too close to him.  
She kissed him slowly, kissed him until he wasn't sure anything else existed; definitely wasn't sure if he wanted anything else to exist. The kiss ended lingeringly. Raina dropped down from her tiptoes where she had gone to reach him.  
"That was... different," he managed.  
She blinked at him. "Was it?"  
He groped for the right words. "You really like me, don't you?"  
Her laugh was startling. "Lex, I wouldn't kiss you if I didn't like you."  
He shrugged. "That's not always how women are with me."  
Raina's expression turned serious. "Well, those are just silly women."  
"I always thought so."  
Laughing, Raina pulled him down to kiss him again. He would really have to tell her how very much he liked her, too. 


	4. Startled

Raina watched the Talon's customers through half closed eyes, leaned far back in one of the comfortable chairs. She kept a hot chocolate curled in one hand, and felt that she wasn't far from utter contentment. She listened to a couple arguing about which of their friends was the laziest. They were undecided between Rob and Adam. After hearing about his perpetually dirty bathroom, Raina was inclined to vote for Rob.  
Someone touched her shoulder and she jumped.  
"Sorry," Lana said. "I didn't mean to startle you." She gestured to Raina's drink. "Do you want a warm up?"  
Raina sat up, blinking. "Wow, what time is it?"  
"Eight thirty. We're closing soon, but there's no rush."  
"Thanks, Lana. No refill. I should probably wake up so I can get home and go to sleep."  
Lana smiled a bit absently and took the last little bit of her drink away.  
Raina stretched and looked around. There were only a few people left in the Talon, and she wondered if she'd actually fallen asleep for a little while. Grateful that she hadn't spilled chocolate on her skirt, she closed the folder she'd left on the table in front of her. She stood slowly and headed for the counter to pay for her drink and the muffin she'd ordered earlier.  
Lana looked very harried when she got to the counter. An elderly woman was arguing about being short changed a month ago. Raina leaned idly against the counter and hoped that Lana could read her completely unhurried state.  
She turned as she heard laughter from the door. Clark came in, Lex behind him. Raina smiled and waved at them.  
"You two are in a good mood," she said when they got a little closer.  
"And why not?" Lex said, his eyes sweeping over her. "It's a good night."  
Raina felt a rush of heat and hoped she wasn't blushing too badly.  
Lana finally convinced the woman to take a gift certificate. She came around the counter and leaned against it, close to Clark but not touching him. Raina hid an amused smile – the unreleased tension between those two was thick enough to cut.  
She shared a glance with Lex – he'd been busy and she'd hardly seen him for two weeks. Once in his presence, though, doubts and worries tended to melt away, and she was just glad to be with him.  
She was hardly one to be concerned with the future.  
Lex took her by the elbow and led her away. "Let's leave the awkward estranged ones to themselves," he murmured against her ear.  
"Those two." She shook her head.  
"I've given up on trying to speed that snail paced relationship along." He pulled her into the back room after a quick look around.  
"I don't know how they can stand it." It was dark back here, lights low and boxes piled high. "I hate to wait."  
His mouth found hers as he pulled her close against him. His hands roamed her body with delicious urgency, and she returned the favor with as much fervor.  
"I missed you," she said with a little gasp as his teeth bit into her neck. She ran her hand down the smooth line of his neck as he hushed anything else she might have said with another kiss.  
She tugged his shirt out of his pants, seeking the warm skin of his stomach. One of his hands worked its way under her skirt, and he brushed fingers across her thigh with startling delicacy, sending her into shivers.  
Things could not possibly go too quickly, but Raina felt a sudden need to slow down.  
He pressed against her, big and safe and warm; unbelievable. She could feel the skin of him between her legs – it was too much, her heart was pounding too fast.  
"Stop," she managed at a whimper.  
He froze.  
She squirmed away from him, to where the air was cooler. He stayed back but she had no time for the uncertainty in him. The light coming through the round window of the door was a beacon.  
She stumbled out of the back room, blinking in the bright light. Clark and Lana stopped their conversation; she hurried past, heedless of their questions.  
The cool night air hit her like a slap to the face. She hurried to her car, yanked open the passenger door, and popped the glove compartment open. Her delicate Japanese pill box fell into her hands, and she fumbled with it for a moment. She dry-swallowed a pill, and almost immediately felt better.  
Now a morbid embarrassment set in. She felt like a fool. A quick look around showed that she was alone. She was afraid to look back at the Talon.  
The door was empty; no one had followed.  
Raina ducked into her car and drove back to her apartment, hoping her mortification would fade.  
  
Lex watched Raina stumble out the door. He was petrified with confusion.  
He shook himself, straightening his shirt, and forcing himself to think.  
He shoved the door open, squinting a little as he came out of the dimness of the back room.  
Clark and Lana stared at him for a moment. Clark took a step toward him. "Lex, what happened?"  
"I don't know," Lex said, keeping his voice mild.  
Clark caught his arm as he started to move away. "Raina looked really upset, Lex."  
"I know that," Lex said steadily. "And I'm going to find out why."  
He pulled away from Clark and left the Talon without a backwards glance. He walked the half block to the flower shop, rapping at the door to get the clerk's attention.  
"Mr. Luthor!" The woman opened the door. "We were just about to close up for the night. Is there something I can help you with?"  
He pointed to a lavish bouquet. "Those. How much for those?"  
"Ah, the roses. Lovely choice. Trying to impress a lady? These are just excellent – red is very romantic." The woman didn't stop her steady stream of chatter until Lex was back outside, without him having to respond to a single comment. "Pleasure to help you, Mr. Luthor! Stop by any time!"  
He gave her a distracted wave as he climbed into his car, setting the roses carefully on the passenger seat. He sat for a minute, then shook himself and drove – decisively – to Raina's apartment.  
He hurried up the steps to her door, roses in hand, but stopped when he heard her voice.  
"Brandy, I'm such a moron. What's he gotta be thinking right now?  
Brandy was either very soft spoken, or on the phone, because Lex didn't hear her reply.  
"No, I never told him. I haven't told anyone here." There was another short pause. "After it started, you remember what it was like... no, but I don't know what else to say. I feel like a total idiot.... Well, it's not supposed to be in the store room of a coffee shop, anyway!" Lex ducked his head at that; Raina wasn't the only one embarrassed. "Oh, really?" she continued to the unknown Brandy. "And just where was your first – oh. Really?"  
Lex realized that his hand was hovering and decided he'd listened in long enough. He rapped at the door sharply.  
"Hold on, Bran," he heard her say. "Someone's at the door."  
When she opened the door she was holding the phone against her shoulder. She stared at him for a moment, eyes locked on his. Slowly she lifted the phone to her ear. "Bran? I gotta go. I'll call you later." Without waiting for a response, she hung up and tossed the phone on the chair. "Lex," she said softly.  
"I'm sorry." He spoke quickly. "I moved too fast; you didn't deserve the lack of courtesy." He held the roses out to her like a peace offering.  
She took them, barely glancing at them as she tossed them after the phone. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into her apartment, then twined an arm around his neck so she could kiss him. Her lips were soft and she was undeniably eager.  
He pulled back a little in confusion; the scent of her made him just a little dizzy with wanting.  
"I don't understand," he murmured.  
Without answering, she shut the door, still holding his wrist, and led him to the couch. When he sat she dropped his hand and kept a little distance between them.  
"I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have led you on." She held up a hand to forestall his comment. "I /i leading you on. I was just... overwhelmed."  
"So you...." He let the sentence hang.  
"Lex, I can't lie. I've wanted you since the first time I laid eyes on you," she blurted out, then looked chagrinned. "But I'm sure you get that a lot."  
He touched her cheek, turning her to face him, then leaned in to kiss her. She seemed surprised for a moment, but then responded with her earlier ardor. She leaned into him, hands pressed against his chest. He slid his arms around her, letting her push him against the arm of the couch.  
Just kissing her was enough to send him into a frenzy; he'd never felt anything like the kind of chemistry she produced in him.  
He wanted her more; wanted more of her.  
In a fluid movement, he rolled them onto the floor so that she was beneath him. She grinned and gave him a quick kiss, tugging at the waistband of his pants. Every inch of her skin was silky under his fingertips.  
He lost all sense of time in the rush of delights, the pure sensual rhythms. She gazed up at him with eyes half closed, and he sensed something about her that was apart from time, from life, from thought.  
Then he was too far gone to think about anything but the feel of her, and it was a long time before he came back. 


End file.
